Mourning father sacked for taking time off work

Office clerk Matthew Forde, 33, from Bristol was sacked while off work mourning one of his newborn twins. He was signed off for a fortnight with stress by his GP after Lily died. Her brother Tom is fighting for life in intensive care. But Bristol Metal Spraying and Protective Coatings fired him, saying he failed to phone in. Forde says he told the firm he would be off.

Chicken run-in

A gang of chicken thieves with 70 stolen birds crammed into the back of their car were caught when traffic police pulled it over for being badly driven in Chippenham, Wiltshire. The birds were returned to owner Judy Morris's free-range egg farm before she realised they were missing.

Curfew silences bells

A composer says he feels 'let down' that a symphony he wrote in tribute to Gloucester cathedral will not feature the ringing of its bells as the grand finale because of a noise curfew. Colin Decio said officials had shown a 'lack of foresight' by refusing to relax the rules. But the Rev Canon Celia Thomson said there would be 'a lot of complaints' if the bylaw banning chimes after 9pm was broken.

Royal propellers stolen

Two 7ft bronze propellers belonging to the Royal Yacht Britannia have been stolen. The massive propellers, said to be worth £7,000 each, were taken from a warehouse at the Leith docks in Edinburgh, where the boat is moored. Police believe it may have been the work of scrap metal thieves using specialist lifting gear.

Air-crash Britons found

Two British men injured in a light aircraft crash in France were rescued last night. They were taken to hospital in Saint-Étienne along with a Belgian man after being found by rescuers in a mountainous area in the Loire region.